Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Bonus scene of Rarity

I
scanned the pool deck and saw Soren’s soccer friends along with a dozen more friends
of Jay and Soren. We rented the
community pool from 8pm to10pm and worked feverishly to string the lights and
decorations. Meg was on Soren duty,
keeping him busy until 8:30 when we’d be ready for him.

“I
hope so. Meg sometimes gets excited and
lets the cat out of the bag.”

“Think
she’ll do that?” Jay looked at me with worry.

“No
idea. If it happens though, it will be
by accident.” I knew Meg was becoming more attracted to Soren and really wanted
this night to be a success. I also knew
that she didn’t need me or Jay interfering with their budding relationship.

“He
told me he put a note in her mailbox last Friday.” Jay said as he hooked up the
stereo.

“I
heard, Meg said it was cute. Did he tell
you about it?”

“Are
you kidding? We’re guys, we don’t talk
about that stuff. What did it say?” Jay
was curious for sure but wouldn’t dare ask Soren.

“It said, ‘You’re the girl I look forward to
see…would you consider going out with me?’
And it had a check box for yes or no.”

“Cheeseball.”

I punched
Jay in the arm and felt bad instantly when I realized he’d probably have a
bruise in a minute or two. “God, sorry.
Listen, I think it’s sweet.
Besides, girls love that stuff.”
He rubbed his arm. “I wasn’t
thinking, I shouldn’t have punched you.”

“You’re
so violent!” Jay teased. “I’m fine, but maybe lay off the Wheaties
next time.”

My
phone chimed, it was Meg.

-We’re
on our way. He has no clue! See you in 10!

“Ten
minutes everyone!” People scampered out
of the pool to head toward the entrance. I glanced back at our pool party setup
and smiled. It looked like the perfect
party, lightup beachballs floated in the pool, lights were strung between the
umbrellas, and the sun was fading into a perfect purple and pink dusk. Jay grabbed my hand and we hurried toward the
crowd.

Soren’s
voice grew louder as they approached, “Meg, why are we here? The pool closed half an hour ago.”

“I
know, I left a bag here yesterday and arranged to pick it up with the
manager. It should be just around this
corner.” Meg was holding Soren’s hand,
leading him into the pool party area.

“Surprise!”
Soren’s mouth fell open and then a giant smile spread across his face. Jay walked through the friends and grabbed
Soren in a tight embrace.

“Happy
birthday Bro!” Soren then mingled and
greeted everyone. Jay lingered around
Soren while I went to the stereo to start up the music.

“So,
you got it all done! Great work and
great turn out!” Meg was behind me
grabbing a cold drink.

“We
did, but I think I might need to refresh my deodorant!” I joked.
Meg chuckled at my comment. “So,
he had no clue?”

“None. Though he seemed suspicious when we pulled up
here.”

“How
was the mini-golf?” Meg told him that
she was taking him mini-golfing for his present and he was more than eager to
go. She gave me a sly smile.

“Awesome. We made a bet. If he won, I had to give him
Mr. Pickles (her stuffed animal bat that hung from her keychain). If I won, he had to buy me a stuffed animal
from the arcade area.” I couldn’t help
but laugh. Meg’s obsession with stuffed
animals was…intense. And here she was
roping him into her Land of the Lovies.
I looked down and saw Mr. Pickles dangling from her purse clip.

“So
you won.”

“Yep. Siegfried the porpoise is in the car.” I bust out laughing and Meg winked at
me. Meg and I unwrapped the fried
chicken and side dishes and called everyone to eat. After dinner we sang Happy Birthday and
served the cake. Time was passing too
quickly as we all were having so much fun with our friends.

After the cake, Meg stood
and straightened her skirt. “Excuse me, I need to give Soren his other
present.” I had no idea what Meg had
bought Soren, she wasn’t even carrying a gift.
She walked up to him and whispered something in his ear. He excused himself from his conversation and
grabbed Meg’s hand. They walked away
from everyone toward an area hidden by bushes.

“What’s
going on there?” Jay sat in the chair
next to me and put my hand in his.

“She’s
giving him his present, though I don’t know what it is.”

Jay stared out across the
pool at all the partygoers. “Great party babe.
Everyone is having so much fun.
Wish we had this place for 2 more hours.” I nodded in agreement.

Meg and Soren were only
out of sight for three minutes. They
came around the corner, Soren leading Meg by the hand. Both were grinning from
ear to ear. I was desperate to find out what Meg got him for a present but he
clearly wanted her by his side as he said his farewells. Jay and I started throwing away the trash and
packing up the drinks and food as partygoers were heading home.

“You guys are the
best. Thanks for an awesome night.”
Soren looked so happy.

“You bet man, glad you
liked it.” Jay answered.

“Meg, what did you give Soren?”

She winked at me, then looked
to Soren and smiled. He pulled out a
note with his handwriting on it and held it up.
The box next to the word YES was checked.

“Oh my god, you guys are
a couple now?!”

Meg nodded happily. Jay and Soren high fived.

“It’s about time.” Jay remarked.
We loaded the car with the party items and headed back to Jay and
Soren’s house. Soren unlocked the front
door as Meg and I carried in the leftover food.

“Did you all have a good
time?” Soren’s dad boomed from the
living room couch.

“Hey Pops, best party
ever. We brought you some leftovers.”

“Oh good, I was just
thinking of getting a snack.” Soren’s
dad approached the kitchen. He was
taller and rounder than Soren. He
greeted us as he headed for a foil pan with chicken in it.

“Are you eating
again? I swear we just left the table.”
Soren’s mom swatted a dish rag at her husband.
He leaned over to kiss her before he took a bite of the chicken. “Brogen!
How are you sweetie? How was the party?” She came over to hug me.

“It was great. I think we really surprised him.” Meg and Soren brought in the cooler and Jay
brought in the light strands.

“They did, it was the
best Mom. Pops, how’s that
chicken?” Soren’s dad made some
inaudible remark of acknowledgement as he chomped his chicken. Jay snickered at his uncle.

“Mom, I know you met Meg
before, but tonight we became more than friends.”

“Hi Meg, so you are a
couple now?” Soren wrapped his arm
around Meg pulling her closer to provide a visual answer to his mom. “Well, congratulations.” She smiled at Meg and as she walked past
Soren she muttered, “We will have a chat later.” Soren’s mom gave him a pointed look. Everyone
but Meg knew what the look meant. When
Jay told his aunt that we were a couple, she had the sex talk with him. Soren was in for an earful tonight. He probably knew it all and could teach his
mom a thing or two about sex ed but he loved his mom and would listen, just as
Jay had.

“We’re gonna’ walk the
girls home, be back soon.” Jay told his
aunt as he kissed her cheek.

“Be safe and come straight
home.”

Soren wrapped his arm
around Meg and headed toward her home.
He turned to yell, “Brogen, thanks again.” I waved in return.

Jay held my hand as we
walked. “Are you alright?” Jay knew that crowds were intense for
me. Too much energy trying to leech onto
me. But I enjoyed the party. I did not feel overwhelmed by the energies since
I was busy working the food and stereo.
Also, everyone’s focus was on Soren and the mood of the evening was
light and fun. Yet, I was glad it was
over.

“Yep, better now. The party was fun but I’m ready to relax.”

“Yeah, parties are fun
but a lot of work. I felt like I hardly
saw you tonight.”

“Me too.” He stopped and pulled me into a kiss.

His lips were soft and
slow. He gazed into my eyes and smiled,
“Hi beautiful. Will you go out with me
tomorrow? Maybe have a picnic?”

“No, sorry, I have plans
with my other boyfriend.” I couldn’t resist.
He was being adorable and I had to rib him.

“Ugh! That’s it you can walk yourself home.” He feigned annoyance and took 3 steps away
from me.

I caught his arm. “Kidding,
kidding, kidding. Come here.” I pulled him close and returned the kiss.
“Pick me up at noon. Don’t be late or I
might really go with my other boyfriend.” I teased.